Spending Stalemate Continues
September 27, 2002-On Sept. 26, Congress cleared for
the President's signature a continuing resolution (CR) to
keep the federal government operating from the Oct. 1 start
of the fiscal year through Oct. 4. The House passed the CR
(H.J.Res.111)
by a vote of 370 to 1; the Senate, by unanimous consent, deemed
the measure cleared for the President once it was received
from the House. The White House has endorsed the CR.
House Appropriations Chair C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) has indicated
that a second CR will be necessary to provide funding through
the current adjournment target date of Oct. 11. The stopgap
funding measures are necessitated by the inability of Congress
to complete any of the 13 regular FY 2003 appropriations bills.
The appropriations have been delayed because the Administration
and conservative Republicans in the House insist on holding
discretionary spending for FY 2003 at $759 billion, as approved
in the House-passed budget resolution. The Senate, which was
unable to complete its version of the budget resolution, has
been pushing for $768 billion, a number supported by many
House appropriators.
It is expected that following the second short-term CR, a
longer CR will be passed to keep the government running until
after the election. What is unclear at this time is whether
Congress to return to Washington for a "lame duck"
session or whether the CR will push the issue into the 108th
Congress.
The baseline for the proposed CR includes all of the spending
in the FY 2002 appropriations bills plus most of the FY 2002
emergency supplemental (P.L. 107-206).
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Director
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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